Issues in Criticism:
Rhetoric and the Achievement
of Woman's Rights


English 484, Section 2
Fall 1999

Professor: Alisse Theodore
Email Address: alisse@umich.edu
Office: 4174 Angell Hall, 764-6370
Office Hours: Tuesdays 12 - 12:50, Thursdays 4:30 - 5:30,
and by appointment
Mailbox: 3161 Angell Hall


Course Information

Welcome About the Texts List of Texts Requirements
Bypassing the Requirements Office Hours Communication Grading
Writing Center Services for Students with Disabilities Academic Integrity A Final Note

Rhetoric and the Achievement of Woman's Rights

English 484 Home Schedule of Assignments Announcements and Updates Contact Information


Welcome
Welcome to English 484. This course has as its focus a phenomenon very basic and yet incredibly complex: the use language to change the world in which we live. A more than two-thousand-year-old tradition which concerns itself with the use of language to persuade is rhetoric. In this class, we'll use rhetorical theory as a way to critically examine persuasive appeals.

The nineteenth-century American woman's rights movement is an ideal case study for such an examination. Most nineteenth-century American women had little or no access to political leaders, nor to higher education or the wages they earned, nor were they allowed to sign contracts or own property in the United States. But despite these rigid constraints and tremendous opposition, over a span of eight decades American women generated massive social and political changes. How? By using the only tool available to them: language. This semester, we'll consider a question central to rhetorical criticism: how do people use language to define, reform, and even revolutionize politics and society?

This class focuses on rhetorical theory and criticism, rather than the history of the rhetorical tradition or the production of rhetorical texts. Rhetorical theory has been divided into five "canons": invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Our primary interests this semester will be invention, arrangement, and style, and we will complicate these canons by studying them in the three dimensions basic to rhetorical theory: text, audience, and rhetor. As rhetorical critics, we will apply rhetorical theory to specific texts, and we will develop an understanding of and a facility with rhetorical issues such as the rhetorical situation, the methods of appeal, exigence, objects of agreement, concepts of audience, patterns of arrangement, figures of speech and other elements of style.

As we apply rhetorical theory--in other words, when we act as rhetorical critics--we'll concern ourselves with the analysis, comparison, and evaluation of texts. These activities parallel higher-order thinking skills (rather than basic skills such as recall), so many people see rhetorical theory and criticism as a way to facilitate, enhance, or even produce critical thinking. Therefore, another objective of this class is that you will learn, practice, and strengthen critical thinking skills central to your life within and beyond the classroom.

What will we learn about the woman's rights movement when we use rhetorical theory to critically examine women's persuasive appeals? You will learn about the history and ideology of one of the longest and most important civil rights movements in the short history of the United States. You will assess the ways logical, ethical, and pathetic appeals of this social movement changed over time. You will identify the rhetorical challenges women faced and the strategies women adopted to meet such constraints in their fight for civil rights. By extrapolating from this case study, I predict that your appreciation for the power of language will increase, and that you will begin to see rhetoric and as an indispensable component of civic life. You may even leave this class asking yourself, "How can I use language to change the world?".

Texts
The main source we'll use for an introduction to rhetorical theory is called, rather conveniently, Introduction to Rhetorical Theory. It was written by Gerry Hauser when he was a professor at another Big Ten school, Penn State. Although some of his examples are a little dated, the book is a very useful introduction to the theory we'll be working with this semester. We'll also use some handouts and perhaps information posted on our class website to supplement the textbook.

Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, a well-known and well-respected rhetorical scholar, introduced many people to the American woman's rights movement by making key texts available for study in a collection called Man Cannot Speak For Her. Since Campbell published this collection, other texts have been "recovered" for study--but this collection remains the fundamental starting place for movement scholars. Since you will be a movement scholar this semester, it's a good place for us to start, too.

Campbell, a professor at the University of Minnesota, includes black and white women in her collection. However, since Man Cannot Speak For Her was published, some scholars have worked diligently to recover more texts produced by African Americans. One scholar and professor at the University of Maryland, Shirley Logan, published some of these texts in a critical anthology, With Pen and Voice. We'll use this collection, too, and we'll talk about the rhetorical implications of a separate anthology for what some scholars call "marginalized voices." Both of these anthologies will also prompt us to ask some important questions related to textual criticism: Whose editing counts, especially in recovery work? What is an "authoritative" text?

In addition, what kind of authority is assumed when a text is anthologized? During the semester, we'll examine petitions, addresses, and even some newspaper articles which have not been collected in a critical edition. And we'll even spend some time looking at editorial cartoons about woman's suffrage. They will be of interest to us not only as rhetorical artifacts, but also as reasons to ask a question central to rhetorical criticism: What makes a text worthy of study?

The books required for this course are available at Shaman Drum Bookshop (313 South State Street, 662-7407, http://www.shamandrum.com). Since I ask people to refer directly to the texts during discussion, please bring the assigned readings to class so that you can easily and quickly point your classmates to the passage(s) under consideration.
Campbell, Karlyn Kohrs, ed. Man Cannot Speak For Her. Volume II. Praeger. ISBN 0-275-93267-2.
Hauser, Gerard A. Introduction to Rhetorical Theory. Waveland Press. ISBN 0-88133-607-6.
Logan, Shirley Wilson, ed. With Pen and Voice. Southern Illinois UP. ISBN 0-8093-1875-X.

Requirements
A schedule of assignments follows. It includes readings, quizzes, brief rhetorical analyses, and one longer paper. In addition, participation is an important component of your performance in this class and attendance is required.

Readings
This course is based on discussion, not lectures, so I expect you to read all of the texts on the syllabus carefully and come to class ready to talk about your reactions to them. I recommend that you read with a pen in your hand, so you can jot notes or ideas in the margins of your book. I use a color such as blue or red to contrast with the black ink publishers use--that way, I can find my notes easily by paging through the text. Stay away from highlighters: they encourage passive reading, particularly since they cause you simply to mark a passage without writing a note or a thought. If I notice a theme or something that interests me, I usually make a note to myself on a separate sheet of paper and then I start a list of the page numbers for relevant passages. Imagine how that kind of active reading will help you when you want to make a point in class or in one of your writings. What other kinds of "active reading" strategies work for you?

Quizzes
In the first three weeks of class, our focus will be the rhetorical theory we'll practice and play with throughout the semester. To facilitate our study of rhetorical theory and its application to woman's rights rhetoric, we'll need to establish a shared vocabulary and begin to think as rhetorical critics early in the semester. I will provide "study sheets" to help you get the most out of this three-week introduction, and during the third, fourth, and fifth classes of the semester you will take a brief quiz. These quizzes will be very straightforward, asking for simple recall, definition, and perhaps some examples of a rhetorical term or tool. The idea is to make sure you've achieved an elementary understanding of key rhetorical concepts that we will develop much more fully during the rest of the semester.

Brief Rhetorical Analyses and Longer Paper
Brief analyses are short but interesting rhetorical analyses of the current assigned reading. They can be addressed to your classmates and me, or they may be addressed to the author or audience of the text you are analyzing. The longer paper is an opportunity for you to develop more fully a rhetorical analysis of several texts. This paper will focus on at least three of the semester's speeches, and it should go beyond analysis to comparison and evaluation as it demonstrates your proficiency as a rhetorical critic. We will talk in greater detail about both kinds of assignments in class, and I will distribute and we will discuss grading criteria for writings and the longer paper before your first brief analysis is due.

Your rhetorical analyses and paper must be typed, double-spaced, left-justified, and printed in a standard font of 10- or 12-point, with one or one and one-quarter inch margins. All assignments are due at the beginning of class. A paper or analysis placed in my campus mailbox after the start of class but before 4:00 p.m. the following day drops one letter grade. It drops two letter grades for each additional day (note: not class session) it is late (weekends count as one day). In other words, if a paper is due on Thursday at the start of class but comes in sometime between Thursday's class and Friday afternoon, it will drop one letter grade. By Monday afternoon, it will drop two more letter grades, and by Tuesday even an "A" paper will drop to an "E." Therefore, I will not accept a paper or analysis more than two days late.

Participation
In other classes, have you found that your participation increases the learning you achieve? Class participation will be informally but clearly reflected in your analyses and paper, since your these writings will benefit from the clarity of thought and expression and the exchange of ideas which class discussions provoke. In addition, class participation is formally accounted for in your grade for this class. Class participation includes (but is not limited to) involvement in large and small group discussions, in-class writings, and an occasional short homework assignment designed to guide you in your reading (for example, "identify five figures of speech used in Stanton's speech" or "complete a Toulmin diagram of three arguments central to Wells's speech").

Some active participation is taken as a given. Intelligent, frequent participation which forwards class discussion or consideration of relevant issues will raise your grade (questions you ask, by the way, may be as interesting as the answers we come up with). Failure to participate at a basic level, including by virtue of excessive absences, will reduce your grade, as will negative or inappropriate participation.

I expect you to come to each session prepared, with reading and writing assignments completed. I also expect you to be attentive and responsive to other members of this class--your colleagues. This classroom must be one of mutual respect and open exchange. The University's Code of Student Conduct names as the University's "central purpose . . . maintaining a scholarly community [which] . . . promotes scholarly inquiry through vigorous discourse. Essential values which undergird this purpose include civility, dignity, education, equality, freedom, honesty, and safety. . . As members of the University community, students are expected to uphold its values by maintaining a high standard of conduct." If you have any questions, please review this Code at http://www.umich.edu/~oscr/Newcode.html or call the Office of Student Conflict Resolution at 936-6308.

Attendance
Attendance is a prerequisite for class participation (discussion, workshops, in-class writings, quizzes, etc.); thus, your presence will have a direct and important effect on your participation in this course. A University-sanctioned excuse, if presented in a timely fashion, entitles you to make up--promptly--the work that can be made up, from whatever work or class activities you missed. If you are absent, seek out a classmate for an explanation of what was covered that day, and then see me during office hours.

You may have two absences without penalty (if you are absent on a day a paper or written analysis is due, the assignment still must be submitted by the start of class on the due date to avoid late penalties). For each unexcused absence after that, your final grade will be lowered by one letter grade. Two late arrivals or early departures (of less than fifteen minutes) convert to one absence. If you miss more than fifteen minutes of a class, you will be considered absent.

Bypassing the Requirements
If you have questions about course procedures, or if you want to bypass a course requirement or deadline, write me a memo or send me an email in advance. Make clear for what you are asking and tell me whatever I need to know to make a decision, which I will convey to you in writing or via email. I can't usually give you full attention in the moments after class. I will make better decisions if I am given good information and time to consider a question or problem.

Office Hours
I will hold office hours throughout the semester. Office hours are an extension of the classroom. You are welcome to come by with questions, comments, and concerns. If you are enjoying a reading and would like to discuss it further, if you are having a problem with something in the course, if you don't understand something, come and see me. I also am happy to work with you on your analyses or paper during office hours, whether it is to work with you at the brainstorming stage or to give you some feedback on a draft. Why not stop by?

Communication
With Me
The most efficient way to get in touch with me outside of class time and office hours is email. During the semester, I check my email every weekday--more frequently than I check my campus mailbox for notes. The English Department does not provide faculty with voice mail, so I have an answering machine on my office phone, but I may check that only on days when our class meets. You will be much more likely to receive a quick response from me if you email rather than leave a message for me on campus.

I will use email to contact class members in case class is canceled because of snow or some other emergency, or if I want to pass on useful information about the class. Although I will not hold you responsible for information distributed by email, it may be to your advantage to give me your email address so that you will receive such updates. I will also post this sort of information on the website for the course, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alisse/ENGL484.html.

With Your Classmates
Your classmates are an integral part of your English 484 experience. I recommend that you introduce yourself to people in this class (you will have opportunities to do so early in the semester), and that you exchange email addresses with several classmates so that you can form study groups, find out what you missed in case of an absence, etc. This email exchange is voluntary, so if someone declines to give you his or her email address, please respect that choice.

Grading
Your final grade in this course is a compilation of assignments, as the list below makes clear. Notice that your third analysis is weighted more heavily than the first two analyses. Do you expect your writing to improve with practice and feedback? The additional weight on the third analysis rewards such improvement.

Quizzes15% (3 at 5% each) Analysis #315%
Analysis #110% Paper30%
Analysis #210% Participation20%

Did you notice that an "E" in participation will preclude you from earning an "A" in this course--no matter how good your writing is? This emphasis on participation reflects the research on teaching and learning which demonstrates that--regardless of your learning style--activities such as discussion and ungraded, short writing significantly increase learning. To account for the learning which cannot be entirely reflected in your graded writings, your participation contributes to your overall grade in this class.

Remember that absences, late arrivals, and early departures also have an impact on your overall grade for the semester (see the "Requirements" section above for more information).

The Gayle Morris Sweetland Writing Center
You may find the Sweetland Writing Center to be a valuable resource when you write papers for this and other University of Michigan classes. If you are interested in finding out more about their services, including the On-Line Writing Lab, Writing Workshops, and Peer Tutoring, visit the Sweetland at 1139 Angell Hall, call 764-0429, or check out their website at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ecb.

Services for Students with Disabilities
If you think you may need an accommodation for any sort of disability, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities (G-625 Haven Hall, 763-3000, http://www.umich.edu/~sswd/ssd) and make an appointment to see me during my office hours within the first two weeks of the semester.

Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, cheating, double submission of papers, aiding and abetting dishonesty, and fabrication, will not be tolerated. If you have any questions about "what counts," please see me in advance.

A Final Note
These course policies and the schedule of assignments are subject to change. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out about such changes.

A.T.99

Last updated on September 3, 1999.

Welcome About the Texts List of Texts Requirements
Bypassing the Requirements Office Hours Communication Grading
Writing Center Services for Students with Disabilities Academic Integrity A Final Note

Rhetoric and the Achievement of Woman's Rights

English 484 Home Schedule of Assignments Announcements and Updates Contact Information


http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alisse